We were invited to take part at this great event organized by a country club near Sebes, Romania. Fighting the weather we went to try our luck, with some paintings and some Dacian hats. We landed in a room crowded with Christmas decorations, music CDs, shoes, clothes, icons, and the above photographed: Dracula with blood dripping from his vampire canines grinning from a porcelain cup with gold trimming, a female nude statuette by the feet of the Crucifix (somehow not religious at all), and ceramic desk mask (?) with butterflies!
And a special treat for Romanian speakers. It is worth reading, I guarantee.
The exhibition is the result of an international project, exhibiting works by 60 artists from 5 countries, Romania, the Czech Republic, Poland, Spain, France, and Germany. The opening, at the Art Museum in Cluj-Napoca (the Banffy Palace in Unirii Square), will be held on November the 19th 2008, starting at 5 PM. See yourself there!
Doodle=a figure, design, or scribble drawn or written absent-mindedly. I believe most artists, not to mention non-artist, have been satisfied and intrigued by such creations of un-intentional art.
More about doodle as art at http://www.squidoo.com/doodle-art, for example. Or better, Gombrich's "Pleasures of Boredom: Four Centuries of Doodles (1991)" in The Uses of Images: Studies in the Social Function of Art and Visual Communication, 304 pp., 356 illustrations, London, Phaidon Press.
The Orthodox Day of Dead in Cluj-Napoca has been, in time, somewhat contaminated by the Catholic version of the event. It is all about visiting the graves at night, placing flowers, socializing (smoking in the cemetery, by the cover of darkness, might be an incentive) and most importantly about bringing some light. The Romanian name of the event, Luminaţie, is about the light (from candles), and not about the Illuminati, as any google search seems to suggest.
The central cemetery of Cluj is pretty impressive during such contexts as it includes some old and well-made funerary sculptures and monuments. I can easily imagine a successful light photography project there. But for now, here is some of my photos.
I invite you all at the Quo Vadis Cafe in Cluj-Napoca, until the end of November 2008, to see the new international exhibition of decorative art entitled "2 in 1". The title relates to the double function of such items, both functional and aesthetic.
More on the even can be found on the blog of the organizers, the Quo Vadis Cafe and apARTe ONGO: http://aparte-cluj.blogspot.com/2008/10/nou-expoziie-de-miercuri-la-quo-vadis.html
Jason de Caires Taylor
http://www.underwatersculpture.com
-underwater installations, artificial reef, sculptures with natural patina
Wim Delvoye
http://www.wimdelvoye.be
http://www.galerieperrotin.com/artiste-Wim_Delvoye-7.html#
-shit machine, tattooed pigs, Gothic chapels made of metal and x-rays, etc.
These are two of the artists I have recently discovered and likes, mostly through their ingenuity in the use of materials and concepts. Though, in general, conceptual art is dull to me unless the result still resembles art and does need a lot of written explanation to make sense or please.
